When Silver Ain't Enough
by Cazio
Summary: The Winchester boys embark on an old fashioned monster-hunt. Zookeepers have been murdered at a rural zoo, and the boys pin down their suspected culprit,but as Castiel warns them, they need to be ready for anything. Set somewhere in Seasons 4-6.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm excited to publish my first story here, please enjoy it. I was playing around with this plot idea for a while before actually putting it to words. I'm deeply in love with this fantastic series, and this story is a small testament to it. More chapters will be added as soon as they're written, but I'll try to add them regularly. This is Chapters 1-5._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

The sound of cloth flapping in the wind was all that was heard as a car's headlights flicked off behind a lone figure.

"You could just poof into the car couldn't you? Gas isn't exactly cheap you know." Dean's rough voice was lost in the vast countryside as he slammed the car door shut, jamming his hands into his jacket pockets. His green-hazel eyes flickered when no answer came.

"Dean. Now is not the time to be complaining about gas prices. That's the least you have to worry about." Castiel never had a since of humor, but Dean felt it took the edge off of the fact that he was talking to an angel, _his _angel. His bipolar, inconvenient angel. Cas showed only when he wanted to show, no matter how close Dean was to death.

"Is it? Last time I checked, we can't exactly gank monsters unless we drive. I'm not letting you zap me again." Dean knew he was pissing him off, well, as much as you could piss off your "guardian angel" of sorts. Castiel turned, his eyes cold and stern. He lifted his chin slightly and scanned the car.

"I'd figure you'd bring Sam along." Dean shot Cas a look, trying to read between the lines. Castiel had specifically told him to come alone. Besides, Castiel had to know Sam wasn't here the second Dean came within earshot, and that could have been miles away. Maybe even before he stepped out the motel room door. Dean's eyes narrowed.

"Sorry that I followed orders." He replied, his words glazed with ice. Castiel just stared at him with those blank eyes, but Dean felt like he was ripping through his soul. Well, he probably was. "Sam's back at the motel. He needed some sleep anyway." In reality, Sam had been suspicious, just as Dean was now. Sam had only let him leave because of the urgency in Dean's voice. Castiel only came to say things that were important, mostly warnings. Dean could practically see Sam glaring at the door as they spoke, his mind grating about his older brother's whereabouts. Dean smirked, imagining the look on Sam's face when Dean walked in the door with no decaying human smell or demon stench wafting off of him. The smirk disappeared, replaced with Dean's upper lip twitching in disgust. He had no idea how far Sam's demon blood thing had gone, he hoped it hadn't gone so far that he could smell one. Dean snapped back to the present and Castiel turned.

"So now what? Are we just gonna stand here in silence?" Dean snapped, realizing Cas could probably see that he'd just lied to him.

"My superiors were . . . unsettled with your ideas about The Prophet."

Dean's eyes flashed. Of course Cas would know about their ideas to take Chuck along. It would be pretty damn helpful to have someone there to foretell the future. Now that the apocalypse had been averted, they had no idea what was coming next. Bobby had made sure to let them know they were just in the eyes of the storm.

"Having Chuck around won't solve anything Dean. " Castiel was glaring at him now, almost daring him to try. "Archangels won't allow him to be in danger. You and Sam could qualify as a threat."  
>"Well it sure would be nice to have that archangel around to get rid off all the crap headed our way."<p>

"It is not The Prophet's job to tag along with you two. His job is to write. That's his only job." Castiel swallowed, Dean made a note that the angel had avoided talking about what was on the way.

Not this again! Dean felt a flicker of fury in his stomach. Cas always did this. "Well, what happens when one of us gets killed when our back is turned?"

"We'll bring you back." Castiel's eyes glinted strangely, as if he were having a flashback. Dean didn't want to know.

"You're to valuable to us now Dean. You can't turn your back on your destiny by dying. " Dean chuckled darkly. They spoke of death as if it were nothing but a rainstorm. Reversible.

"Great." Dean snorted. "We done here?" His face had turned stone cold, visions of hell blasting through his mind at lightning speed. He started towards the car.

"Wait." Cas's voice was somber now. "I can't tell you what's coming Dean, but you and Sam have to be on your guard for anything."

"Like we aren't already." Dean retorted, but he searched Cas's face. Was he trying to warn him? Casteil was staring at him again, and it was making him uncomfortable. "Wait, what do you mean?"  
>"Anything." Cas reinforced. Dean blinked and he was gone, swallowed in the silence of the uninhabited surroundings.<p>

"Damn angels, disappearing whenever its convenient." Dean muttered to himself, pulling his Blackberry from his pocket. It only had to ring once.

"Dean! Where the hell are you?" Sam sounded as mad as he'd been when Dean had left.

"Calm down, I'm heading back right now." Dean replied, rolling his eyes as he started the car.

"Well, I think I've found us a new case . . . . I'll tell you about it when you get back."

"Sounds good." He pressed the "Call End" button and tossed the phone onto the dashboard. The familiar rush of adrenaline of a new case sent his nerves sparking, but Cas's words were in the back of his mind, and he had the strange feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

**Chapter 2**

The Impala pulled into the dimly lit motel parking lot and before Dean could move, Sam threw open their room's door with his laptop in his hand, squinting at the screen. He barely glanced up at his brother as he walked over to the car.

"Well, I'm glad you've given me time to get comfortable before we start." Dean teased as he stepped out of the car, seeing Sam open his mouth to speak. Sam rolled his eyes.

"I came out here to see what Cas talked to you about." Sam lied. Dean could see it instantly.

"You know, you've gotten pretty bad at lying since the whole demon blood thing. You came out here to tell me about the case, don't try to cover it up." Dean smirked as he walked by his brother, who was practically smoldering from his bringing up Sam's little secret.

"Really Dean? I thought we were over this." Sam snapped through gritted teeth.

Dean put his hands up in fake surrender. "Oh yeah, my bad. We're over it."

Sam glared at Dean for a moment longer, only the sound of the nighttime crickets filling the air, then returned his gaze to his laptop. Dean shoved open the door and stepped inside, pulling off his leather jacket and tossing it onto the floor. Tiredness swept over him in a wave and he fell onto one of the beds, shutting his eyes, sighing.

"Dean, we have a case, remember?" Sam gently reminded him, but concern flickered in his eyes. He didn't like Dean staying awake for this long. They hardly got sleep anymore. His brother's eyes were glazed, but he could tell Dean wanted to stay up and go over the details.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna rest my eyes while you tell me." Dean muttered, his voice muffled by the mattress. Sam sighed and pulled up a chair. This wasn't going to end well.

"Okay then," Sam started, but he could tell he'd have to get right into the case before Dean drifted off. He felt bad for doing it, but this case could lead them… somewhere. "So, zookeepers at this crappy little zoo in town have started dying, but the zoo won't release how. According to witnesses, they look like animal attacks. Thing is, all the animals are inside at night, when the murders happened. "

"So what does that mean?" Dean mumbled, one of his eyes flicking open. Sam frowned.

"Well, I'm thinking ghosts. I mean, it couldn't be humans doing this, the security cameras go blank around the entire zoo during the time of the murders." Sam leaned his head on his hand, staring at the screen. A lick of his dark hair fell over his eyes and he brushed it back with a deep exhale.

"Well isn't that convenient. " Dean paused, shutting his eyes again, but his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Cas warned me about something that's coming . . . . maybe this is it. We gotta be on our toes. " Sam looked up from his laptop, cocking an eyebrow. He didn't think Dean was going to spill anything about that little meeting with his angel buddy. _He must be really tired_. Sam thought, shutting the laptop. Dean didn't open his eyes.

"Well, I'll get the shotgun shells ready, you need some sleep." Sam said as he stood up, putting the laptop on the bedside table.

"No, I'll help you . . . . . gimme a sec." Dean murmured and Sam couldn't help but smile. Dean was so weird when he was tired. Dean didn't even try to open his eyes as Sam started preparing for tomorrow. Soon enough, he could hear Dean's deep breathing.

An hour or so later, Sam stood up, putting all the rock salt and iron weapons back to their places. This was gonna be just a regular good ol' ghost hunt, and that was fine with him. Sam walked over and sat on his bed, taking a look at Dean. Dean always looked happier when he slept, the air of stress and sadness gone from his face. That's how Sam could tell when he was faking. He felt as though he could just fall asleep too, that anything that could hurt them would leave them alone for a night. Sam figured that they would, they hardly ever just barged in unless they'd planned for it. But sleep wasn't an option. Sam had the luxury of being able to doze off in the car, something Dean never got to do.

_Stop thinking about it._ Sam thought, feeling his eyelids get heavy. He looked up at the peeled ceiling, resting his head on the headboard. He tried making shapes in the ceiling creases, but ended up thinking about tomorrow instead. They'd be able to hunt like this for how long until the demons and angels showed up again? He never knew anymore, this could be their last "simple" ghost hunt. He hoped so, but he wasn't sure hope even existed for them anymore.

**Chapter 3**

An explosion of sound sent Sam flying upright, his brain scrambling to defend itself. His chest heaved and his eyes were wide as he started to scan the room, but the perpetrator was right in front of him, laughing his head off.  
>"Did I scare ya Sammy?" Dean asked, still laughing.<p>

"Shut up." Sam seethed, collapsing himself back into the soft pillow on his bed. _Wait….was I sleeping?_ Sam's eyes flew open once more, the overpowering tiredness shoved aside by worry. He looked for anything strange around the room, but didn't see anything. He ran his hand through his hair and rolled himself to the side of the bed, putting his feet on the floor. _I am such an idiot!_

Dean had moved from the edge of the bed to the table where the shotgun shells were neatly put away. All joking aside, he'd been mad at himself for falling asleep last night, but at least now they both had a few hours of shut-eye that could fuel them for this new case. He'd forgotten what the case was even about, something to do with pet stores or something.

"So…what are we doing today again?" Dean asked.

"We're visiting some dead zookeepers." Sam gave him a sarcastic smile.

"What? Why?" He looked down at his shotgun and frowned.

"Were you wasted last night or something?" Sam asked jokingly, but Dean could see a twinge of genuine curiosity in his eyes. Dean looked at him, expecting Sam to figure it out. Sam just raised his eyebrows.

"No! I'm not writing down every word you say, I'm allowed to forget something okay?" He snapped.

"Well, you mentioned Cas said something about how 'something's coming'. Did that really happen?"

"Yeah, it did actually." Dean cast his brother a glare. "Now what about the case?"

"A series of attacks on zookeepers at some dump of a zoo around here have been happening lately. No security footage or anything. The papers are calling them animal attacks but the animals are inside all night. I'm thinking ghosts."Sam repeated, whilst brushing his teeth.

Dean seemed to understand what he was saying nevertheless."What's the moon like?"

"I thought werewolves at first too, but the last full moon was a week and a half ago. We have to see those bodies. " Sam replied nonchalantly, spitting his toothpaste into the sink.

"Let's go then." Dean smiled, grabbing the box of shells and kicking the door open. "Fresh air Sammy! Nothing like a morning at the morgue!" Sam rolled his eyes and grabbed for one of his faded jackets. Instead, Dean shoved a suit in his face and Sam grimaced. Why couldn't they be undercover agents? Sometimes he just wanted to get through a case without playing dress-up. Just once.

"Hello, I'm Agent Gontier and this is my partner Agent Walst, FBI. We've come to investigate the recent animal attacks at the-uh, Wrights Zoo?" Dean smiled. The receptionist looked petrified as they flashed their IDs. His lips twitched, trying to keep a straight face. A few moments of silence passed, then Sam cleared his throat.

"Is there anyone we can see to…examine the bodies, Miss?" The receptionist opened her moth to say something, then simply blinked. Dean was beginning to think he'd given the lady a heart attack, her stark white hair should have been a bit of a warning sign.

"I-I'm so sorry! It just….we've never had federal agents here before. You caught me off guard!" She managed to blurt out. Dean gave Sam a look, and Sam shrugged, this lady was acting just as weird to him. The woman grabbed the desk phone and punched in a number.

"Yes, this in Eileen. I've got two federal agents here about the animal attacks at the zoo. " She paused, then got a smile on her face like she's just met her idol. "You heard me right, real federal agents!" She giggled and put down the phone. "He'll be just a moment." She was still beaming.

"Uh, okay, thanks." Dean gave her the best smile he could muster. _Poor lady_. Then a door opened in the hallway to their left and an old man hobbled out, propping himself on a simple wooden cane.

"You buys the federal agents I been herin' about?" The man asked, his face gnarled into a permanent scowl. _She really had to use the phone to call him when he was that close?_Dean thought, with a twitch of his eyebrows.

"Yes sir, Agents Gontier and Walst." He replied, motioning to himself and Sam. Sam smiled quickly, but seemed anxious.

"Come on then." The man grumbled, turning around. Dean glanced at Sam before following. The building looked more like a school than a morgue; it had the same grey worn walls and tacky laminate stone floors. So when they walked into the room where the bodies were kept, Dean's eyebrows rose in surprise. He expected an outdated body room with ancient equipment, instead, the top-of-the-line stainless steel "corpse coolers" lined the walls and shiny new tools were neatly hung above a stainless steel examination table. The people in this town probably had nothing better to do than scrub down the room once a day; it was spotless. Even Sam seemed taken aback by the room. The old man didn't seem to notice their surprise and walked over to one of the doors. He yanked the handle and a black body bag slid out.

"This here's the latest attack, them two other ones is here too." The man grabbed the zipper and pulled it down, exposing the body. Dean stepped forward.

"What in the hell is this?" Dean blurted out. It certainly wasn't a werewolf attack, that was for sure.

**Chapter 4**

"Sam, I got no friggin' idea what's going on in this town." Dean growled, slamming the Impala door shut with a loud thud as he stepped out. Sam seemed to be enjoying his brother's frustration and had a playful smirk on his lips. Dean was not pleased that they hadn't immediately figured out what was going on. Sam found this pretty amusing, considering they _never_ found out what was happening at first. But a pouty Dean was just as much of a nightmare as an angry Dean.

"Look, you saw the bodies. The hearts are still….mostly intact, so we can rule out werewolves, like I said." Sam replied with a shrug. Dean cast a glare at his younger brother , and turned his back to him, leaning against the driver's side door of the car. Sam rolled his eyes, cracking his door open so Dean could still hear him.

"We should call Bobby." Sam offered, eager to get back to the motel, and more importantly, back to his laptop. They were always calling Bobby to give them a hand, the man was practically their father. Dean shifted against the window but said nothing. Sam pulled out the photographs of the bodies, buried beneath their makeshift pile of fake IDs and scammed credit cards. The first one, a woman, had deep gouges in her chest, obvious claw marks. Sam's brow furrowed, studying the picture more closely. She had huge lacerations on her face and arms from trying to defend herself, and the claw marks looked completely normal. In fact, the animal had apparently just wanted to make a meal of her, ripping open her ribcage and devouring the majority of the vital organs, including a bite out of the heart. Sam hadn't seen many regular animal attacks, but this looked like a regular attack.

"Hey, Dean, remember that guy who could change into a dog?" Sam asked, breaking the tense silence around the car. Dean looked up. "Yeah…Skinwalkers, right?" Sam blinked, a flood of information and theories filling his head. _What if Skinwalkers were the culprit? _He scrambled for the other two photos as Dean got back in the car.

"Still want me to call Bobby?" Dean with a smile that practically bled with pride. Sam said nothing and continued to look at the other photos. The other victims were an older man and a younger college intern, all three victims were in contact with the animals. "We need to check out that zoo." Dean gassed it, but Sam felt a pang of helplessness. "Wait, I need my laptop first, I left it back at the motel."

"Really Sammy? That thing practically lives up your ass and you leave it back at the room?" Dean seethed, viciously turning the '67 Impala, the wheels screeching across the gravel. Sam opened his mouth to lash back at his brother's insult, but decided against it. After all, it would just make Dean more pissy.

Dean drummed his fingers along the steering wheel, impatiently waiting for Sam to come back. The case was actually going somewhere, and this little setback could cost them valuable time. The motel looked even more grungy during the day, but to Dean, this was home. He liked the dirty surroundings and the fizzling neon vacancy sign, even the smell of the parking lot calmed him.

"Dean." A deep voice next to him made him jump, and he whipped his head around to see a familiar head of messy black hair. Castiel. _Great._

"Goddammit Cas!" Dean snapped, adjusting the collar of his jacket. Popping in unexpected, as usual. Dean was getting ot the point where he wished Castiel would just piss off, or at least not scare the crap out of him when he showed up.

"God already damned you awhile back. I pulled out out." Castiel spoke in a tone of his usual seriousness. Dean sighed, fighting not to roll his eyes. "I don't need the attitude." Dean growled.

"I am not using an atti—"

"I don't care!" Dean interrupted, putting up his hands. "I don't care. Just tell me what you came here for."

Castiel blinked, and then looked down blankly, as if he'd forgotten. Then, after a few more seconds of prickling silence, he spoke. "Don't assume Dean. I can't help you any more than this. I'm breaking the rules just by being here right now." Dean cocked an eyebrow. "Was I supposed to think you were going to help us?" He glanced at the room door as Sam popped out, and Cas was gone.

"Fine, you cryptic bastard! Next time I'm gonna gank your ass!" Dean yelled, leaning out the window, talking to the sky. Sam stopped, blinking in surprise. "Sorry that I needed my laptop?" Sam replied, very confused.

"Not you." Dean grumbled, pulling himself back in the car. Sam cocked his head, but said nothing. He hopped into his seat and pulled open his laptop as it hummed to life. He didn't feel like trying to sort out Dean's problems at this point. His own temper was wearing away, they needed to get some action in before they both exploded. He quickly pulled up the zoo's website page and his jaw clenched as he read the front page, it had to be Skinwalkers!

"Dean. Look at this." Sam flipped the laptop and Dean slowed the car to glance at the page.

_ZOO TO RELEASE "WILD" WOLF PACK_

Dean and Sam exchanged looks. "We can't let them release those wolves." Dean paused, pressing the car faster. "If they do, everyone in this town is screwed."

**Chapter 5**

The brothers flipped open the trunk of their muscle car, Dean's hazel eyes sifted through the shotguns, blades and spell ingredients. Sam had his hands jammed in his pockets, eager to get on the move. After a few moments Dean selected a silver knife, examining the edges with a practiced eye. He slipped it in the inside pocket of his suit, whistling contently. Sam moved in and picked a pistol, checking that it was loaded with silver bullets. He grabbed a handful of extra silver ammo, the feel of the cool metal pellets in his fingers brought back countless memories. He gave a small chuckle, remembering all the times they'd had before the apocalypse. Things had seemed hard then, but compared to what they'd done before, they were almost comical.

"Think we should take anything else?" Dean asked, looking in the trunk again. Sam shook his head, puckering his lips in polite disagreement. Dean shrugged, obviously just as excited to start as Sam was. Of course, they weren't outwardly excited, but each could feel it bubbling underneath their skin. This is what they lived for. Sam couldn't help but smile as they walked towards the entrance.

"What?" Dean asked, sporting a grin of his own.

"Nothin'." Sam replied, his smile widening. Dean chuckled, and as they walked in together, Sam felt a burst of relief. This was the first time they'd acted like brothers in a long time. They flashed their IDs in sync, not even bothering to explain themselves as they passed through the gates.

"I don't know what to tell you." A chubby, sweaty receptionist, shoved the Winchester's IDs away from him across the counter. Their feel-good attitude was quickly leaving them. Dean cleared his throat, his rough voice cutting through the receptionist like butter. "Look pal. I don't care what else you've got hidden in your little stinkhole. We're here to solve murders, not dig through your trash."

"Excuse me sir, but what exactly are you insinuating?" The man managed to blubber. Dean's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not insinuating." Dean growled, his cold gaze flicking to the water bottle sitting on the desk. The man froze in his tracks, any traces of a tough guy mentality were long gone.

"I don't—"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about you son of a bitch." Dean snapped. Sam mimicked his brother's stern gaze, though he didn't quite know what was going on. "I can smell that whiskey from over here." The man scrambled to shut his water bottle, but the damage was done.

"Uh… we've shut off the section soft the zoo where the attacks occurred." He gulped, scrambling around his desk. "H-here's the zoo map." He grabbed a red marker and drew wobbly circles around three exhibits. Dean's eyes flickered as the red ink circled around the silhouette of a wolf. Now the problem would be findng the right wolf and blowing its Skinwalking brains out.

"How many wolves do you have exactly?" Dean asked, cocking an eyebrow. The man flinched, as though the question was a whiplashing.

"Four. I think." He replied quickly. Dean's eyes narrowed in suspicion, then he gave a cold smile.

"Thanks." He replied, snatching the brochure-like map and walking out, Sam following behind. As they broke into the clammy sunlight, Sam was smirking.

"What's your problem? Did you like Tubby Drunk in there?" Dean grumbled, annoyed at Sam's lack of seriousness. Sam just gave a little laugh, but after a few moments of silence he couldn't help himself.

"Do you _know_ what insinuate means?" Sam teased.

Dean hunched his shoulders. "I used it right, didn't I?" As Sam cracked up, Dean couldn't help but smile. "It's not my fault I spent my time with girls instead of a dictionary." He added, and Sam just rolled his eyes. Dean seemed to like to exploit the fact that his younger brother didn't get too many girls in high school but Sam comforted himself with the fact that they'd probably have been dead a million times over. As they headed towards the wolf exhibit, the sun disappearing behind a cloud, giving Sam a slight chill. He shrugged the ominous warning away, itching to get his blade into those wolves and get this case over with, it was starting to give him the creeps.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The Impala pulled into the dimly lit motel parking lot and before Dean could move, Sam threw open their room's door with his laptop in his hand, squinting at the screen. He barely glanced up at his brother as he walked over to the car.

"Well, I'm glad you've given me time to get comfortable before we start." Dean teased as he stepped out of the car, seeing Sam open his mouth to speak. Sam rolled his eyes.

"I came out here to see what Cas talked to you about." Sam lied. Dean could see it instantly.

"You know, you've gotten pretty bad at lying since the whole demon blood thing. You came out here to tell me about the case, don't try to cover it up." Dean smirked as he walked by his brother, who was practically smoldering from his bringing up Sam's little secret.

"Really Dean? I thought we were over this." Sam snapped through gritted teeth.

Dean put his hands up in fake surrender. "Oh yeah, my bad. We're over it."

Sam glared at Dean for a moment longer, only the sound of the nighttime crickets filling the air, then returned his gaze to his laptop. Dean shoved open the door and stepped inside, pulling off his leather jacket and tossing it onto the floor. Tiredness swept over him in a wave and he fell onto one of the beds, shutting his eyes, sighing.

"Dean, we have a case, remember?" Sam gently reminded him, but concern flickered in his eyes. He didn't like Dean staying awake for this long. They hardly got sleep anymore. His brother's eyes were glazed, but he could tell Dean wanted to stay up and go over the details.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna rest my eyes while you tell me." Dean muttered, his voice muffled by the mattress. Sam sighed and pulled up a chair. This wasn't going to end well.

"Okay then," Sam started, but he could tell he'd have to get right into the case before Dean drifted off. He felt bad for doing it, but this case could lead them… somewhere. "So, zookeepers at this crappy little zoo in town have started dying, but the zoo won't release how. According to witnesses, they look like animal attacks. Thing is, all the animals are inside at night, when the murders happened. "

"So what does that mean?" Dean mumbled, one of his eyes flicking open. Sam frowned.

"Well, I'm thinking ghosts. I mean, it couldn't be humans doing this, the security cameras go blank around the entire zoo during the time of the murders." Sam leaned his head on his hand, staring at the screen. A lick of his dark hair fell over his eyes and he brushed it back with a deep exhale.

"Well isn't that convenient. " Dean paused, shutting his eyes again, but his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Cas warned me about something that's coming . . . . maybe this is it. We gotta be on our toes. " Sam looked up from his laptop, cocking an eyebrow. He didn't think Dean was going to spill anything about that little meeting with his angel buddy. _He must be really tired_. Sam thought, shutting the laptop. Dean didn't open his eyes.

"Well, I'll get the shotgun shells ready, you need some sleep." Sam said as he stood up, putting the laptop on the bedside table.

"No, I'll help you . . . . . gimme a sec." Dean murmured and Sam couldn't help but smile. Dean was so weird when he was tired. Dean didn't even try to open his eyes as Sam started preparing for tomorrow. Soon enough, he could hear Dean's deep breathing.

An hour or so later, Sam stood up, putting all the rock salt and iron weapons back to their places. This was gonna be just a regular good ol' ghost hunt, and that was fine with him. Sam walked over and sat on his bed, taking a look at Dean. Dean always looked happier when he slept, the air of stress and sadness gone from his face. That's how Sam could tell when he was faking. He felt as though he could just fall asleep too, that anything that could hurt them would leave them alone for a night. Sam figured that they would, they hardly ever just barged in unless they'd planned for it. But sleep wasn't an option. Sam had the luxury of being able to doze off in the car, something Dean never got to do.

_Stop thinking about it._ Sam thought, feeling his eyelids get heavy. He looked up at the peeled ceiling, resting his head on the headboard. He tried making shapes in the ceiling creases, but ended up thinking about tomorrow instead. They'd be able to hunt like this for how long until the demons and angels showed up again? He never knew anymore, this could be their last "simple" ghost hunt. He hoped so, but he wasn't sure hope even existed for them anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

An explosion of sound sent Sam flying upright, his brain scrambling to defend itself. His chest heaved and his eyes were wide as he started to scan the room, but the perpetrator was right in front of him, laughing his head off.  
>"Did I scare ya Sammy?" Dean asked, still laughing.<p>

"Shut up." Sam seethed, collapsing himself back into the soft pillow on his bed. _Wait….was I sleeping?_ Sam's eyes flew open once more, the overpowering tiredness shoved aside by worry. He looked for anything strange around the room, but didn't see anything. He ran his hand through his hair and rolled himself to the side of the bed, putting his feet on the floor. _I am such an idiot!_

Dean had moved from the edge of the bed to the table where the shotgun shells were neatly put away. All joking aside, he'd been mad at himself for falling asleep last night, but at least now they both had a few hours of shut-eye that could fuel them for this new case. He'd forgotten what the case was even about, something to do with pet stores or something.

"So…what are we doing today again?" Dean asked.

"We're visiting some dead zookeepers." Sam gave him a sarcastic smile.

"What? Why?" He looked down at his shotgun and frowned.

"Were you wasted last night or something?" Sam asked jokingly, but Dean could see a twinge of genuine curiosity in his eyes. Dean looked at him, expecting Sam to figure it out. Sam just raised his eyebrows.

"No! I'm not writing down every word you say, I'm allowed to forget something okay?" He snapped.

"Well, you mentioned Cas said something about how 'something's coming'. Did that really happen?"

"Yeah, it did actually." Dean cast his brother a glare. "Now what about the case?"

"A series of attacks on zookeepers at some dump of a zoo around here have been happening lately. No security footage or anything. The papers are calling them animal attacks but the animals are inside all night. I'm thinking ghosts."Sam repeated, whilst brushing his teeth.

Dean seemed to understand what he was saying nevertheless."What's the moon like?"

"I thought werewolves at first too, but the last full moon was a week and a half ago. We have to see those bodies. " Sam replied nonchalantly, spitting his toothpaste into the sink.

"Let's go then." Dean smiled, grabbing the box of shells and kicking the door open. "Fresh air Sammy! Nothing like a morning at the morgue!" Sam rolled his eyes and grabbed for one of his faded jackets. Instead, Dean shoved a suit in his face and Sam grimaced. Why couldn't they be undercover agents? Sometimes he just wanted to get through a case without playing dress-up. Just once.

"Hello, I'm Agent Gontier and this is my partner Agent Walst, FBI. We've come to investigate the recent animal attacks at the-uh, Wrights Zoo?" Dean smiled. The receptionist looked petrified as they flashed their IDs. His lips twitched, trying to keep a straight face. A few moments of silence passed, then Sam cleared his throat.

"Is there anyone we can see to…examine the bodies, Miss?" The receptionist opened her moth to say something, then simply blinked. Dean was beginning to think he'd given the lady a heart attack, her stark white hair should have been a bit of a warning sign.

"I-I'm so sorry! It just….we've never had federal agents here before. You caught me off guard!" She managed to blurt out. Dean gave Sam a look, and Sam shrugged, this lady was acting just as weird to him. The woman grabbed the desk phone and punched in a number.

"Yes, this in Eileen. I've got two federal agents here about the animal attacks at the zoo. " She paused, then got a smile on her face like she's just met her idol. "You heard me right, real federal agents!" She giggled and put down the phone. "He'll be just a moment." She was still beaming.

"Uh, okay, thanks." Dean gave her the best smile he could muster. _Poor lady_. Then a door opened in the hallway to their left and an old man hobbled out, propping himself on a simple wooden cane.

"You buys the federal agents I been herin' about?" The man asked, his face gnarled into a permanent scowl. _She really had to use the phone to call him when he was that close?_Dean thought, with a twitch of his eyebrows.

"Yes sir, Agents Gontier and Walst." He replied, motioning to himself and Sam. Sam smiled quickly, but seemed anxious.

"Come on then." The man grumbled, turning around. Dean glanced at Sam before following. The building looked more like a school than a morgue; it had the same grey worn walls and tacky laminate stone floors. So when they walked into the room where the bodies were kept, Dean's eyebrows rose in surprise. He expected an outdated body room with ancient equipment, instead, the top-of-the-line stainless steel "corpse coolers" lined the walls and shiny new tools were neatly hung above a stainless steel examination table. The people in this town probably had nothing better to do than scrub down the room once a day; it was spotless. Even Sam seemed taken aback by the room. The old man didn't seem to notice their surprise and walked over to one of the doors. He yanked the handle and a black body bag slid out.

"This here's the latest attack, them two other ones is here too." The man grabbed the zipper and pulled it down, exposing the body. Dean stepped forward.

"What in the hell is this?" Dean blurted out. It certainly wasn't a werewolf attack, that was for sure.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Sam, I got no friggin' idea what's going on in this town." Dean growled, slamming the Impala door shut with a loud thud as he stepped out. Sam seemed to be enjoying his brother's frustration and had a playful smirk on his lips. Dean was not pleased that they hadn't immediately figured out what was going on. Sam found this pretty amusing, considering they _never_ found out what was happening at first. But a pouty Dean was just as much of a nightmare as an angry Dean.

"Look, you saw the bodies. The hearts are still….mostly intact, so we can rule out werewolves, like I said." Sam replied with a shrug. Dean cast a glare at his younger brother , and turned his back to him, leaning against the driver's side door of the car. Sam rolled his eyes, cracking his door open so Dean could still hear him.

"We should call Bobby." Sam offered, eager to get back to the motel, and more importantly, back to his laptop. They were always calling Bobby to give them a hand, the man was practically their father. Dean shifted against the window but said nothing. Sam pulled out the photographs of the bodies, buried beneath their makeshift pile of fake IDs and scammed credit cards. The first one, a woman, had deep gouges in her chest, obvious claw marks. Sam's brow furrowed, studying the picture more closely. She had huge lacerations on her face and arms from trying to defend herself, and the claw marks looked completely normal. In fact, the animal had apparently just wanted to make a meal of her, ripping open her ribcage and devouring the majority of the vital organs, including a bite out of the heart. Sam hadn't seen many regular animal attacks, but this looked like a regular attack.

"Hey, Dean, remember that guy who could change into a dog?" Sam asked, breaking the tense silence around the car. Dean looked up. "Yeah…Skinwalkers, right?" Sam blinked, a flood of information and theories filling his head._What if Skinwalkers were the culprit? _He scrambled for the other two photos as Dean got back in the car.

"Still want me to call Bobby?" Dean with a smile that practically bled with pride. Sam said nothing and continued to look at the other photos. The other victims were an older man and a younger college intern, all three victims were in contact with the animals. "We need to check out that zoo." Dean gassed it, but Sam felt a pang of helplessness. "Wait, I need my laptop first, I left it back at the motel."

"Really Sammy? That thing practically lives up your ass and you leave it back at the room?" Dean seethed, viciously turning the '67 Impala, the wheels screeching across the gravel. Sam opened his mouth to lash back at his brother's insult, but decided against it. After all, it would just make Dean more pissy.

Dean drummed his fingers along the steering wheel, impatiently waiting for Sam to come back. The case was actually going somewhere, and this little setback could cost them valuable time. The motel looked even more grungy during the day, but to Dean, this was home. He liked the dirty surroundings and the fizzling neon vacancy sign, even the smell of the parking lot calmed him.

"Dean." A deep voice next to him made him jump, and he whipped his head around to see a familiar head of messy black hair. Castiel. _Great._

"Goddammit Cas!" Dean snapped, adjusting the collar of his jacket. Popping in unexpected, as usual. Dean was getting ot the point where he wished Castiel would just piss off, or at least not scare the crap out of him when he showed up.

"God already damned you awhile back. I pulled out out." Castiel spoke in a tone of his usual seriousness. Dean sighed, fighting not to roll his eyes. "I don't need the attitude." Dean growled.

"I am not using an atti—"

"I don't care!" Dean interrupted, putting up his hands. "I don't care. Just tell me what you came here for."

Castiel blinked, and then looked down blankly, as if he'd forgotten. Then, after a few more seconds of prickling silence, he spoke. "Don't assume Dean. I can't help you any more than this. I'm breaking the rules just by being here right now." Dean cocked an eyebrow. "Was I supposed to think you were going to help us?" He glanced at the room door as Sam popped out, and Cas was gone.

"Fine, you cryptic bastard! Next time I'm gonna gank your ass!" Dean yelled, leaning out the window, talking to the sky. Sam stopped, blinking in surprise. "Sorry that I needed my laptop?" Sam replied, very confused.

"Not you." Dean grumbled, pulling himself back in the car. Sam cocked his head, but said nothing. He hopped into his seat and pulled open his laptop as it hummed to life. He didn't feel like trying to sort out Dean's problems at this point. His own temper was wearing away, they needed to get some action in before they both exploded. He quickly pulled up the zoo's website page and his jaw clenched as he read the front page, it had to be Skinwalkers!

"Dean. Look at this." Sam flipped the laptop and Dean slowed the car to glance at the page.

_ZOO TO RELEASE "WILD" WOLF PACK_

Dean and Sam exchanged looks. "We can't let them release those wolves." Dean paused, pressing the car faster. "If they do, everyone in this town is screwed."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The brothers flipped open the trunk of their muscle car, Dean's hazel eyes sifted through the shotguns, blades and spell ingredients. Sam had his hands jammed in his pockets, eager to get on the move. After a few moments Dean selected a silver knife, examining the edges with a practiced eye. He slipped it in the inside pocket of his suit, whistling contently. Sam moved in and picked a pistol, checking that it was loaded with silver bullets. He grabbed a handful of extra silver ammo, the feel of the cool metal pellets in his fingers brought back countless memories. He gave a small chuckle, remembering all the times they'd had before the apocalypse. Things had seemed hard then, but compared to what they'd done before, they were almost comical.

"Think we should take anything else?" Dean asked, looking in the trunk again. Sam shook his head, puckering his lips in polite disagreement. Dean shrugged, obviously just as excited to start as Sam was. Of course, they weren't outwardly excited, but each could feel it bubbling underneath their skin. This is what they lived for. Sam couldn't help but smile as they walked towards the entrance.

"What?" Dean asked, sporting a grin of his own.

"Nothin'." Sam replied, his smile widening. Dean chuckled, and as they walked in together, Sam felt a burst of relief. This was the first time they'd acted like brothers in a long time. They flashed their IDs in sync, not even bothering to explain themselves as they passed through the gates.

"I don't know what to tell you." A chubby, sweaty receptionist, shoved the Winchester's IDs away from him across the counter. Their feel-good attitude was quickly leaving them. Dean cleared his throat, his rough voice cutting through the receptionist like butter. "Look pal. I don't care what else you've got hidden in your little stinkhole. We're here to solve murders, not dig through your trash."

"Excuse me sir, but what exactly are you insinuating?" The man managed to blubber. Dean's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not insinuating." Dean growled, his cold gaze flicking to the water bottle sitting on the desk. The man froze in his tracks, any traces of a tough guy mentality were long gone.

"I don't—"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about you son of a bitch." Dean snapped. Sam mimicked his brother's stern gaze, though he didn't quite know what was going on. "I can smell that whiskey from over here." The man scrambled to shut his water bottle, but the damage was done.

"Uh… we've shut off the section soft the zoo where the attacks occurred." He gulped, scrambling around his desk. "H-here's the zoo map." He grabbed a red marker and drew wobbly circles around three exhibits. Dean's eyes flickered as the red ink circled around the silhouette of a wolf. Now the problem would be findng the right wolf and blowing its Skinwalking brains out.

"How many wolves do you have exactly?" Dean asked, cocking an eyebrow. The man flinched, as though the question was a whiplashing.

"Four. I think." He replied quickly. Dean's eyes narrowed in suspicion, then he gave a cold smile.

"Thanks." He replied, snatching the brochure-like map and walking out, Sam following behind. As they broke into the clammy sunlight, Sam was smirking.

"What's your problem? Did you like Tubby Drunk in there?" Dean grumbled, annoyed at Sam's lack of seriousness. Sam just gave a little laugh, but after a few moments of silence he couldn't help himself.

"Do you _know_ what insinuate means?" Sam teased.

Dean hunched his shoulders. "I used it right, didn't I?" As Sam cracked up, Dean couldn't help but smile. "It's not my fault I spent my time with girls instead of a dictionary." He added, and Sam just rolled his eyes. Dean seemed to like to exploit the fact that his younger brother didn't get too many girls in high school but Sam comforted himself with the fact that they'd probably have been dead a million times over. As they headed towards the wolf exhibit, the sun disappearing behind a cloud, giving Sam a slight chill. He shrugged the ominous warning away, itching to get his blade into those wolves and get this case over with, it was starting to give him the creeps.


End file.
